STACK #265 November 2026

FEATURE MUSIC

Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’? Two Michael Jackson classics are reissued. THE THRILL IS BACK

FUN FACT

The Thriller title track was originally called

artist to be honoured. Michael was inducted by NSYNC, who said: “For more than 35 years, Michael Jackson has been the Man in the Mirror , he thrilled us with Thriller , the largest-selling album of all time; beat us at our own game with Beat It , he rocked us to our souls with Rock with You . He’s Bad , he’s Dangerous … and if he thinks we’re gonna let him stop because we have enough, as they often say in this city – forget about it! There ain’t no stoppin’, there ain’t not enough, he is the King of Pop, the one, the only, Michael Jackson.” Jeff Jenkins “Starlight”. The album’s biggest hit, Billie Jean , was inspired by a bizarre story – a fan contacted Michael, claiming the singer was the father of one of her twins.

T he press dubbed him “Wacko Jacko”. But his manager at the time, Frank DiLeo, had a simple explanation: “It’s hard to be that big and not be a little eccentric.” And pop stars didn’t come any bigger than Michael Jackson, who died in June 2009, aged 50. His biggest album was aptly titled Thriller . From its duet with Paul McCartney ( The Girl Is Mine ) to Eddie Van Halen’s guitar solo in Beat It , the album

the US Top 10; four reached the Australian Top 10. Michael Jackson also ushered in a new era in music video. Director John Landis – who made the classic The Blues Brothers - made the 14-minute clip for the title track. Nineteen years after Thriller , Michael released Invincible , his tenth and final studio album. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame the

Thriller is out now; Invincible by Michael Jackson is out Nov 13 via Sony

CHART FACT

Michael Jackson

Michael has had six number one albums in Australia.

year Invincible was released, becoming the youngest solo

delivered on every front. Released 44

and 11 weeks on top of the Australian charts. Seven Thriller singles hit

years ago this month, it spent 37 weeks at number one in the US

A new live album celebrates the genius of George Michael. KEEP THE FAITH Faith topped the charts in the US and UK and peaked at three in Australia. George went on to have five more CHART FACT

Top 10 solo albums in Australia – including the 1996 chart-topper Older - to go with his three Top 10 albums with Wham!

G eorge Michael sadly died on just 53. But his music lives on. In 1987, the Wham! star released his debut solo album, Faith . It

Christmas Day a decade ago. He was

shows across 16 countries, including 13 dates in Australia. “I suppose what Faith meant to me was life was still going to deliver,” George said at the time. The set list included She Wants, and I’m Your Man ), some previous solo hits – Careless Whisper and I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) - as well as some classic covers, including Lady Marmalade, Play That Funky Music, and Stevie Wonder’s Love’s in Need of Love Today . The Faith Tour live album is drawn from two nights at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris on May 30 and 31 in 1988. Jeff Jenkins all the Faith hits, as well as some Wham! gems ( Freedom, Everything

FUN FACT Faith opens with a funereal church organ

was a blockbuster, selling more than 25 million copies worldwide and winning a Grammy for ‘Album of the Year’. As well as featuring one of the most famous leather jackets in music history, four singles from the album – Faith,

playing Wham!’s Freedom , which was believed to be George’s way of saying that Wham! was dead and he was now a mature solo artist.

Father Figure, One More Try and Monkey - topped the US charts, meaning George is the only English male solo artist to have had four American chart-toppers from the one album. In 1988, George set off on the Faith Tour, playing more than 100

The Faith

Tour by George

Michael is out Nov 6 via Sony Music

George Michael

Photo credit: Russell Young

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